Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Wangjaesan Light Music Band

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Genres
  
Chosŏn'gŭl
  
왕재산 경음악단

Genre
  
Light music

Years active
  
1983-present

Hancha
  
旺載山輕音樂團 / 王在山輕音樂團

Wangjaesan Light Music Band httpsiytimgcomvixvL11B3k64maxresdefaultjpg

Revised Romanization
  
Wangjaesan Gyeongeumakdan

McCune–Reischauer
  
Wangjaesan Kyŏngŭmaktan

Origin
  
Albums
  
Vol. 9: Dance Music 2, Vol. 10: Dance Music 3

Record labels
  
Korean Gramophone Record, WJS, KMC

Similar
  

The Wangjaesan Light Music Band is a light music (gyeongeumak) group in North Korea. It is one of two (with Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble) popular music groups that were established by North Korea in the 1980s, both named after places where Kim Il-sung fought the Japanese in 1930s. It takes its name from Mount Wangjae in Onsong-gun, North Hamgyong Province, on the border with China, where Kim Il-sung is said to have held a meeting for anti-Japanese activities in 1933.

Contents

The band was established by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on 22 July 1983. Its music was often broadcast over Korean Central Broadcasting Station channels such as Radio Pyongyang. The Wangjaesan Dance Troupe is part of the group.

Wangjaesan Light Music Band Wangjaesan Light Music Band Tribute Video Globe TribuneInfo

Alleged executions and disbandment

Wangjaesan Light Music Band We Serve the General Wangjaesan Light Music Band YouTube

On 29 August 2013, The Chosun Ilbo reported that key members of the Wangjaesan Light Music Band were made to watch the execution by firing squad of other musicians and dancers from their band, as well as members of the Unhasu Orchestra and the singer Hyon Song-wol, on the orders of Kim Jong-un. The Wangjaesan Light Music Band was subsequently disbanded. Some experts however were dubious of this claim, such as Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy. Demick told Business Insider "...it is hard to trust this stuff. A lot of deliberate misinformation out there." Chad O'Carroll of NK News, a North Korean analyst website, stated: "You've got to remember that a lot of the time the source is South Korean and it's in their interest to distort or perhaps weave the truth every now and then". John Delury from the Yonsei University in Seoul told The Guardian: "This stuff gets planted regularly in media outlets and then quickly goes viral. There's a global appetite for any North Korea story and the more salacious the better. Some of it is probably true — but a great deal of it is probably not". Delury also added: "The normal standards of journalism are thrown out of the window because the attitude is: 'It's North Korea — no one knows what's going on in there'". Hyon Song-wol was later shown to be alive.

Reappearance

In 2015, the band reunited for the "Songs Full of Memories" concert series (February-March) and the joint performance "Great Party, Rosy Korea" in October.

Wangjaesan Light Music Band Wangjaesan Light Music Band Bellows YouTube

Wangjaesan Light Music Band Tap dance Youthful Days Wangjaesan DPRK Music YouTube

Songs

Don't Ask My Name1992
Play with Flowers1992
Bellows1992

References

Wangjaesan Light Music Band Wikipedia


Similar Topics